Once I got home from River of January (Rio), I immediately booked another trip, which was in four hours. 16 hours later, I arrived at Foz do Iguaçu, a city on the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
This was a great adventure. I went to the Itaipu Dam, the largest hydroelectric plant in the world. It is also one of the Modern 7 Wonders. At the hostel, I met a religious nutcase who couldn’t turn the light off or open the fridge because it was Sabbath. I heard him singing a prayer later on. Not sure if praying or possessed. The next day, I went to the falls, one of the New7Wonders of Nature. I have to admit: they are better than Niagara Falls. Three wonders in one week. Not bad.
Then, I went to the bird park, the three frontiers – where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet – and the biggest mosque in Latin America. Later on, I hitched a ride to Paraguay with some motorcyclist. Although Ciudad del Este is Paraguay’s second biggest city, there is nothing to see. It’s mainly a duty-free market visited just for shopping. I was surprised that there was no border control. You need original documents to get on the inter-city bus, but you can cross the country’s borders without being stopped. No logic, but it’s a smuggler’s paradise. To end the night, I went to a show which had performances and dances from all over Latin America. It was amazing, and the food was great.
*One workweek later*
Then, I went to the bird park, the three frontiers – where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet – and the biggest mosque in Latin America. Later on, I hitched a ride to Paraguay with some motorcyclist. Although Ciudad del Este is Paraguay’s second biggest city, there is nothing to see. It’s mainly a duty-free market visited just for shopping. I was surprised that there was no border control. You need original documents to get on the inter-city bus, but you can cross the country’s borders without being stopped. No logic, but it’s a smuggler’s paradise. To end the night, I went to a show which had performances and dances from all over Latin America. It was amazing, and the food was great.
*One workweek later*
It was a Friday evening and I wanted to go somewhere. I checked the buses online and found out that there was one seat left for Florianópolis. I booked it, as well as a hostel, and was off in an hour.
The weather wasn’t looking so good. Suddenly, it started raining. And in São Paulo, when it rains, it pours. I took the bus to the metro, but it stopped five minutes away because the streets were very crowded. I told the bus driver to drop me off where we were. Some guy who spoke English came and told me that there is no way to get to the metro and that I will get diseases or something. I told him that I don’t care and I went out. It was worse than I thought. It was like a fucking river. The water came up to above my knees, and when I crossed the street, it almost reached my hips. I was completely soaked, but I got to the metro, and I made it to the bus on time. Every black cloud has a silver lining.
I got to the hostel on Saturday morning. My shoes were still a bit wet, but I didn’t have any other shoes. I met some people at the hostel and we hung out. We went to the downtown and then to the beach. Drinks were involved, and some funny situations ensued. We stayed at the beach until 2 a.m. My memory is a little blurry, so I’m not a very reliable source of what happened. I managed to get a mark on my face. As far as the kids at school are concerned, I just fell on my face.
The next day we went to the beach again. It was very windy, and there were very big waves. I decided to go for a swim. Little did I know that I was going to be drowning five minutes later. I was at a spot where I could touch the ground, but the waves were just too strong that I had to swim back to the shore. I kept swimming, but the waves were pulling me back even further. After swallowing water for a few times, I was like ‘shit, I’m drowning!’ So I started screaming ‘Help!’ (Yes, I actually did that – in English. What was I supposed to do? I don’t know the word in Portuguese) but nobody heard me. The waves were louder. I started waving my hands, but nobody saw me. The waves were blocking the view, or the life guard was texting. Meanwhile, on another beach, the life guard was telling people not to go in the water. Anyway, *spoiler alert* I survived. One does not simply give up on life. I managed to swim back after swallowing too much water. I haven’t swum since. Adventure level: Near-death experience.
Since I had work on Monday, I had to leave Florianópolis on Sunday night, but I can be a bit late. I got to São Paulo at 6:00, and I had work at 9:30. I went to take the metro, and there were so many people. I had to wait for four metro trains to be able to get into one of them. The amount of people in this city is too damn high! I got to work late, but just in time for lunch.
The weather wasn’t looking so good. Suddenly, it started raining. And in São Paulo, when it rains, it pours. I took the bus to the metro, but it stopped five minutes away because the streets were very crowded. I told the bus driver to drop me off where we were. Some guy who spoke English came and told me that there is no way to get to the metro and that I will get diseases or something. I told him that I don’t care and I went out. It was worse than I thought. It was like a fucking river. The water came up to above my knees, and when I crossed the street, it almost reached my hips. I was completely soaked, but I got to the metro, and I made it to the bus on time. Every black cloud has a silver lining.
I got to the hostel on Saturday morning. My shoes were still a bit wet, but I didn’t have any other shoes. I met some people at the hostel and we hung out. We went to the downtown and then to the beach. Drinks were involved, and some funny situations ensued. We stayed at the beach until 2 a.m. My memory is a little blurry, so I’m not a very reliable source of what happened. I managed to get a mark on my face. As far as the kids at school are concerned, I just fell on my face.
The next day we went to the beach again. It was very windy, and there were very big waves. I decided to go for a swim. Little did I know that I was going to be drowning five minutes later. I was at a spot where I could touch the ground, but the waves were just too strong that I had to swim back to the shore. I kept swimming, but the waves were pulling me back even further. After swallowing water for a few times, I was like ‘shit, I’m drowning!’ So I started screaming ‘Help!’ (Yes, I actually did that – in English. What was I supposed to do? I don’t know the word in Portuguese) but nobody heard me. The waves were louder. I started waving my hands, but nobody saw me. The waves were blocking the view, or the life guard was texting. Meanwhile, on another beach, the life guard was telling people not to go in the water. Anyway, *spoiler alert* I survived. One does not simply give up on life. I managed to swim back after swallowing too much water. I haven’t swum since. Adventure level: Near-death experience.
Since I had work on Monday, I had to leave Florianópolis on Sunday night, but I can be a bit late. I got to São Paulo at 6:00, and I had work at 9:30. I went to take the metro, and there were so many people. I had to wait for four metro trains to be able to get into one of them. The amount of people in this city is too damn high! I got to work late, but just in time for lunch.
Some facts:
The Iguaçu Falls has a flow capacity equal to three times that of Niagara Falls. Upon seeing the falls, the United States' First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!"
The Iguaçu Falls has a flow capacity equal to three times that of Niagara Falls. Upon seeing the falls, the United States' First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!"
The Itaipu Dam is the largest operating hydroelectric facility in terms of annual generating capacity, supplying 90% of all the electricity consumed by Paraguay and 19% of that consumed by Brazil.
Florianópolis is an island in the South of Brazil. It is the city with the highest quality of life in Brazil, and was named best place to live in Brazil. It has 42 beaches.
Florianópolis is an island in the South of Brazil. It is the city with the highest quality of life in Brazil, and was named best place to live in Brazil. It has 42 beaches.
*Pictures on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment